Mix 102.7 or Jammin' 105 at the end?

[TonySantiago]

I had a discussion with a friend about Mix 102.7 and the subject of Jammin 105 came up. He imparticular liked the sound of Jammin 105 towards the end (when Frankie Blue was there) just before the flip to Power 105.1. I did as well. When Jammin did the flip to hip-hop, I was actually ticked at the change figuring that CC didn't give the station a chance to grow. Somehow it sounded different musically than the other CC property not too far down the dial...WKTU.

So, when Mix 102.7 came in with the classic dance, and after talking with my friend, it made me wonder. Frankie Blue did run the helm on 102.7 for a bit before his..ah em...troubles.

But musically and personality wise, which station in your opinion sounds/sounded better?

I'll give my thoughts later.

 

[fang39]

> I loved "Jammin' 105" when they first signed on in late 1998. In speaking with other people in my age group, not in the business, they loved it too. They had a very strong first book, taking listeners away from Kiss, WBLS and the venerable CBS-FM. However, their playlist was very narrow and after a couple of months, the numbers consistently dropped. By the time they "tweaked" the format by adding some mid-late 80's to their mix, it was too late. Hiring Jay Thomas as their morning man didn't help matters. He didn't fit the format. Would have like to have heard Tom Joyner, the "Godfather" of the "Jammin'" format doing mornings.

 

[Oldiesmike101]

I agree. When Jammin 105 first signed on the air it was great. I had them on instead of 101.1 many times but your right what hurt Jammin was the limited playlist. Since Jammin 105 was competing against CBSFM back then with playing 70s and everything, They should have opened their playlist to the vanilla cuts as well. I remember after 2-3 months thats what was turning me off to 105.1 besides the limitation of the playlist, then it was back to 101.1 for me and 105 off and on. The PD back then at Jammin was also good friends with former CBSFM PD Joe Mccoy so that didn't help especially when thats the station your in competition with. I agree about Jay Thomas, wrong dj for the station all the way. The one who I think would have done good as a morning man was Freddie Colon. He was listener friendly and always kept everyone up to date like Harry Harrison did. When they brung in Frankie Blue to be PD at Jammin besides KTU, that was what basically made 105 go to it's death months before CC pulled the plug on it. Frankie was pretty good with KTU, but, in my opinion he knew nothing about running an oldies station. He was making Jammin 105 into a station that played no late 60s anymore, dumped a lot of the early to mid 70s music, dedicated the station to disco & todays r&b when the station's format did not require that. the station was Jammin' oldies, disco yes, today's music no. To me CC should have put an oldies PD in there who knows the market & knew the format. If Jammin 105 went fully up against CBSFM at the time with the right mix of music from the 60s, 70s & 80s they would have succeeded in my opinion. In my opinion Frankie Blue being PD and making changes that made the station worse is what got Jammin 105 killed off months down the road.

> > I loved "Jammin' 105" when they first signed on in late
> 1998. In speaking with other people in my age group, not in
> the business, they loved it too. They had a very strong
> first book, taking listeners away from Kiss, WBLS and the
> venerable CBS-FM. However, their playlist was very narrow
> and after a couple of months, the numbers consistently
> dropped. By the time they "tweaked" the format by adding
> some mid-late 80's to their mix, it was too late. Hiring
> Jay Thomas as their morning man didn't help matters. He
> didn't fit the format. Would have like to have heard Tom
> Joyner, the "Godfather" of the "Jammin'" format doing
> mornings.
>

 

[munchkin]

The PD back then at Jammin was also good
> friends with former CBSFM PD Joe Mccoy so that didn't help
> especially when thats the station your in competition with.

Joel Salkwoitz is a pro. I seriously doubt that he would "throw the fight" because of a friendship with McCoy.

> I agree about Jay Thomas, wrong dj for the station all the
> way. The one who I think would have done good as a morning
> man was Freddie Colon. He was listener friendly and always
> kept everyone up to date like Harry Harrison did.

You're right--Freddie would have been great in the AM. He'd also be a good choice for Mix.

 

[fang39]

> You're right--Freddie would have been great in the AM. He'd
> also be a good choice for Mix.

If I remember correctly, Freddie was the original morning man on Jammin 105, before they brought Jay Thomas on board. I think Freddie's currently doing a syndicated weekend show for CBS radio.

 

[munchkin]

> > You're right--Freddie would have been great in the AM.
> He'd
> > also be a good choice for Mix.
>
> If I remember correctly, Freddie was the original morning
> man on Jammin 105, before they brought Jay Thomas on board.
> I think Freddie's currently doing a syndicated weekend show
> for CBS radio.

Freddie did middays for a bit. Al Bandiero was the original AM guy...

 

[fang39]

> Freddie did middays for a bit. Al Bandiero was the original
> AM guy...

That's right! Forgot all about "The Kid From Brooklyn!"

 

[Radio411]

> > Freddie did middays for a bit. Al Bandiero was the
> original
> > AM guy...
>
> That's right! Forgot all about "The Kid From Brooklyn!"
>
As a matter of fact Al worked with Patty Steele before she left for 'PLJ taking Naomi DiClemente's spot as "newsperson/sidekick." Just as an aside, I actually enjoyed Jay Thomas in the AM, but as most have said...another venue would have been MORE fitting. Did Jammin 105 last longer than Jammin Gold in Philly? Just curious...

 

[fang39]

> Just as an aside, I actually enjoyed
> Jay Thomas in the AM, but as most have said...another venue
> would have been MORE fitting.

Honestly, I haven't enjoyed Jay on the radio since his days at 99X, before he went "Hollywood" back in 1979. Since then, he always comes off like the Waiter in a restaurant who says "But I'm really an ACTOR," to which the natural response should be "then please ACT like a Waiter!" BTW, Jay's newsman/sidekick back then was former ESPN anchor Charlie Steiner.

 

[Spozate900]

Did Jammin 105 last longer
> than Jammin Gold in Philly? Just curious...
>

Jammin 105 lasted from Dec 98 to March 2002.
Jammin Gold came on in 1999 and ended in June 2001.

 

[Radio411]

> Did Jammin 105 last longer
> > than Jammin Gold in Philly? Just curious...
> >
>
> Jammin 105 lasted from Dec 98 to March 2002.
> Jammin Gold came on in 1999 and ended in June 2001.
>

Wow! Even more short-lived than I had thought...Thanks for the info! I know that it was "the fad format" back around the end of the last millenium. I can recall checking out one of my favorite Jocks, Linda NRG, when she left Jammin' 105 enroute to WGAY in DC. We all saw what happened to that "niche" and I wonder exactly how long before the same happens to "Mr. Jack" and his cohorts.

Time will tell I suppose...

 

[fang39]

> Wow! Even more short-lived than I had thought...Thanks for
> the info! I know that it was "the fad format" back around
> the end of the last millenium. I can recall checking out one
> of my favorite Jocks, Linda NRG, when she left Jammin' 105
> enroute to WGAY in DC. We all saw what happened to that
> "niche" and I wonder exactly how long before the same
> happens to "Mr. Jack" and his cohorts.
>
> Time will tell I suppose...

One can only hope (Re: Jack)! I don't think Jammin' was a bad format though. Just lacked width and depth in it's library. Just like current "oldies" programming, they took 400 songs (it felt like less) and burnt them to a crisp. There's only so many times you can listen to "I Will Survive" before you change the channel. There are so many great tunes deserving of airplay that, due to market segmentation and testing, haven't been heard on commercial radio in ages that are and would be welcomed by the many listeners who did embrace the format when it first burst on the scene. Even as a "niche" format, with proper attention paid to details, I believe can still flourish within a metropolitan market.

 

[DjJosB05]

> One can only hope (Re: Jack)! I don't think Jammin' was a
> bad format though. Just lacked width and depth in it's
> library. Just like current "oldies" programming, they took
> 400 songs (it felt like less) and burnt them to a crisp.
> There's only so many times you can listen to "I Will
> Survive" before you change the channel. There are so many
> great tunes deserving of airplay that, due to market
> segmentation and testing, haven't been heard on commercial
> radio in ages that are and would be welcomed by the many
> listeners who did embrace the format when it first burst on
> the scene. Even as a "niche" format, with proper attention
> paid to details, I believe can still flourish within a
> metropolitan market.
>

Ditto!!!!!!

You read my mind fang39!! Very well put.

JC<P ID="signature">______________
NY & CT Radio Lover
"Party 105.3 is BACK!!"
<IMG SRC=http://www.staticfiends.com/images/beavis-butthead.jpg width=200 height=170></P>

 

[disneyfan]

I used to love Jammin' 105. It was a great station playing jammin' oldies. I missed that station. I usually listened to it occassionally during my home visit.